can of worms!
DESCRIPTION
Can of Worms!. Joan:“Hey, did you see that report that in Singapore, each of us produces more than 1,200 kg of waste each year?” Mike:“What? How can… are you sure?” Joan:“No no , really! Apparently, most of it is paper and cardboard waste.” Mike:“Huh? What happens to all that?” - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Can of Worms!
What Do I Know? What Do I Need to Know?• Singapore generates a lot of waste• Recycling reduces waste• Some waste is recyclable: Food
waste, plastics, paper, metal•Waste needs to be disposed of
properly: burning in incinerators, burying in landfills, composting• Composting is a way of allowing
nature to break down waste naturally, and end product is used as fertilizer.• Earthworms can be used to recycle
waste
• How much waste is generated?•What kinds of waste?• How is waste disposed of in
Singapore? Is it eco-friendly?•What do worms feed on?•What exactly is composting?• Does composting smell bad?•What worm species are native to
Singapore?•Which approving body do we
approach to bring in worms?• How fast is this composting system? •Will the system attract pests?
Joan: “Hey, did you see that report that in Singapore, each of us produces more than 1,200 kg of waste each year?”
Mike: “What? How can… are you sure?”Joan: “No no, really! Apparently, most of it is
paper and cardboard waste.”Mike: “Huh? What happens to all that?”Joan: “I think the report said that it gets burnt
to ash, and the ash is then dumped at an island called Pulau Semakau.”
Mike: “Aiyoh, what a lot of smoke and fumes that will pollute the atmosphere!”
Andy: “No, I know that our incineration plants are very advanced and burn at very high temperatures and so there is very little smoke or poisonous gases released. It also results in very fine ash that takes up far less space than the original trash.”
Joan: “High heat? Wah… must use a lot of energy, ah?”
Mike: “Yah, not ‘green’, right? Is there any eco-friendly way?”
Andy: “I heard of some way to recycle waste using, er… worms.”
Joan: “YUCK!”Mike: “GROSS! So smelly!”Andy: “Yah, but you want eco-friendly, right?!
Anyway, it’s just regular earthworms or something, and after that you get fertilizer.”
Mike: “So how come we don’t use this method?”
Learning ObjectivesStudents will be able to:• Design an experiment to show the effects of worms on
the rate of decomposition of food waste• Persuade peers on the advantages of sorting out trash • Design a prototype table-top worm composting system Investigation Investigation Ideas• Add worms to one bucket of food
waste and label it “Experimental”• Set up another similar bucket of
food waste and label it “Control”• Record daily observations of the
compost bucket for 15 days• Discuss the results
• Design a worm composting system• Investigate optimal conditions for
worm growth• Examine the interaction of microbes
in the worm composting system• Design a pamphlet to encourage
the public to sort their trash
ResourcesInfo on recycling in Singapore http://www.zerowastesg.com/
NEA Waste Management website http://app2.nea.gov.sg/topics_waste.aspxVideos on vermicomposting http://www.wix.com/step929/terracyclesg#!__videos
Video of how-to do vermiculture http://worm-compost-bins.comFacebook game on waste management http://www.facebook.com/oceanopolisWaste Management Game http://www.swmgame.org/epd_english/index.htm
Dumptown Game http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/dumptown.htm